Descendant of the Crane: He Joan

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What follows is Hesina's attempt to get justice for her father and prevent war at the same time. Along the way, she uncovers secrets and betrayals. The murder mystery aspect - plus the thrilling courtroom scenes - were done so well here. So much better than the recent Four Dead Queens. En Descendant of the Crane nos encontramos con la historia de Hesina, la princesa de Yan, que toda su vida ha huido de sus responsabilidades, pero que, de repente, debe empezar a asumirlas porque su padre ha muerto en extrañas circunstancias. Coronada como Reina (lo cual ya es raro porque esto es un setting completamente chino), Hesina decide acudir a una persona que usa magia prohibida en el reino para entender si la muerte de su padre fue natural. Sin embargo, cuando descubre que su padre fue envenenado, Hesina decide convocar al equipo de investigaciones y denunciar su muerte como un asesinato. Así es como empieza una historia en la que una de las amantes del rey es sospechosa y el ayudante de la investigación de Hesina es un exconvicto. I received an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley (thank you, Fierce Reads!). These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.** She’s also just become queen of a country on the brink of war with a fierce neighbor. And queen of a country internally torn apart by fear and prejudice against people called sooths, who have the ability to perform magic or read the future. Hesina is what many of us girls once were: obligated to age before our time, to take on roles we should not have had to bear. It's a reality many girls of color are forced to endure, and it was as refreshing as it was bittersweet to read. Hesina, royal by birth, does not take all of her newfound responsibilities without struggle and without a hefty dose of mistakes, and I loved her all the more for it.

Plus, I have an interview with some of the characters coming this Wednesday so keep an eye out for that!!!) A really important detail of the book was the sooths. They were people with almost magical powers who could do amazing things like seeing into the future. Due to previous historical events, the sooths were generally despised and shunned from society and there were terrible punishments for them and those who sympathised with them. Another reason I liked Hesina was that although everyone was telling her that the sooths were evil and deserved to be punished, she made up her own mind about them and wanted to bring equality to her society. Which is also something that we should all do today. I liked DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE a lot more than I liked THE GIRL KING, for several reasons. The world-building was more cohesive and there were many direct parallels to actual elements of Chinese culture (the writing/characters, the religion, historical allegories (I was thinking of the Cultural Revolution specifically, as the rebellion of the eleven and the persecution of the sooths reminded me of that), culture, and clothing). It did not feel quite as nebulous as THE GIRL KING did. The actual magic was a little vague; I'd like to learn more about sooths in the next book. Still, we did see some examples of sooth-saying and what I did see was compelling (blue fire, though).I really loved so much about this book. the worldbuilding was honestly flawless and the lore of the empire was one of my favorite things to read The characters were all brilliant and multi-faceted. Hesina was the protagonist, a young woman convinced that her father, the king, was murdered despite the fact that everyone else believed it to be a natural death. Determined to deliver justice, she decided to start a trial to find the murderer and become the next queen. Even though she didn't always make the right decisions and she had many misconceptions about her kingdom, it was admirable how she believed in herself and had the courage to pursue the things she thought were right. There were times when she wavered but when she made up her mind to do something, she did it formidably. Where Descendant of the Crane truly shines is in description and setting. He takes “Chinese-inspired fantasy” to new heights. Everything about the setting is rich and vivid. In particular she delves into fashion, language, and culture. He plays on what Hesina wears or doesn’t wear, and when and why all have deeper meaning. Even the parts of her clothing Westerners might not even notice get highlighted in meaningful ways. With a language based on characters rather than letters, He can explore all the ways characters form a phrase, and how complex or simple those characters are might affect the plot. I can’t really go into more detail without spoiling one of the subplots, but it’s pretty cool to watch it all unfold. I think my favorite part of the story is the way the author has crafted her characters. There are lots of complicated characters and relationships, and who’s good and who’s bad, isn’t always obvious. Morally gray characters abound, which always makes for a great read for me. There’s also some interesting sibling dynamics within Hesina’s own family that I very much enjoyed reading about. Descendant of the Crane was a story about human people in an inhuman world���it was a story about a kingdom which carried the wounds of centuries past, its hurts unhealed and cutting deep, its bitterness and hate festering together like rot.

this literally has the most twisty plot ever. listen, I came into this book expecting a murder mystery and came out feeling like I'd walked through a hailstorm Whereas DOTC and TOWMTF build off of YA tropes that I grew up reading about (royalty and siblings in dystopia, respectively), I took a leap with STZ and grounded it in a less mainstream, though no less significant, part of my childhood. STZ draws from the energy of epics such as 水滸, 康熙王朝, and, of course, the Three Kingdoms books themselves--which, I should note, not even my mom has read :') And so I've always known that this book won't quite resonate with everyone. There will be references that won't strike a chord, and others removed, reimagined or transposed in such a way that diehard fans of the original might go ??? (e.g. there is no Cao Zhi in STZ, so my lady Zhuge Liang gets to be the one who composes a poem in 7 steps!). For princess Hesina of Yan, the palace is her home, but her father is her world. He taught her how to defend against the corruption and excesses of the old kings, before revolutionaries purged them and their seers and established the dynasty anew. Look, I don't mind naive characters. Hesina does learn and grow throughout the book. But I was promised savvy scheming, dammit, and I didn't get it. The level of court politics is too juvenile. And don't sell me that crap about how it's YA. Six of Crows and And I Darken are some twisty serpents. Caiyan raised a brow. “You’re hoping that I’ll say ‘yes’ so you can proceed alone. But that wasn’t our agreement. I am to lead the whole way, or I don’t take you to this person at all.”Lilian danced out of Caiyan’s reach. “I could still tell all your high-minded court friends that the illustrious Yan Caiyan reads erotic novellas in his spare time. Who’s the latest favorite? Wang Hutian?” I also love how He mercilessly probes her characters’ underlying motivation, and explores the lines between good and evil, who monsters are, and what makes them so. By the end, her antagonists’ villainy illuminates the morality of each character, and the reader is still a long way from sundering villain from hero. Girl spends like three days doing paperwork, is like, f this shit, and hares off to save the sooths and stop a war, bungles it because she has no clue how logistics, alliances, communication and leadership actually work, and then blames herself for not changing centuries of oppression and ingrained racism and hatred after being on the job for three weeks.

Joan was born and raised in Philadelphia but still will, on occasion, lose her way. At a young age, she received classical instruction in oil painting before discovering that stories were her favorite kind of art. She studied psychology and Chinese history at the University of Pennsylvania and currently writes from a desk overlooking the city How do I put to words everything that is Descendant of the Crane? I feel as if anything I write would be a disservice to this novel. To all that it encompassed and to all that it brought out. A beautiful debut with thrilling politics and strokes of magic, set in a lush world that feels real and weighted with its own complex history." -Lori M. Lee, author of the "Gates of Thread and Stone" series and contributor to A Thousand Beginnings and Endings and her realizations that everyone's not who they appear to be are just... so relatable. I love Hesina so much and she Truly Feels Like A Flawed Teen Character to me And they did come—at the hands of eleven scrappy outlaws who climbed the Ning Mountains, crossed the Kendi’an dunes, breached the imperial walls, and beheaded the last relic emperor on his very throne. They emancipated serfs and set them to work on dikes and embankments. Storms calmed. Floods drained. They opened the doors of education to women and commoners, and their disciples circulated the former outlaws’ philosophies in a book called the Tenets. The people of Yan called them the Eleven. Legends. Saviors. Heroes.A fully realized history helps make this adventure, rooted in Chinese folklore, feel epic, while Hesina will appeal to contemporary readers." - Booklist A man bellowed an opera under the tiled eave of a dilapidated inn, and something porcelain shattered, but Caiyan’s voice still cleaved the night. “You don’t have to protect me, milady.” Red lantern light edged his profile as he looked into the distance. “He was my father too.”

Descendant of the Crane was written as a standalone story, though it does seem like there’s more to come, and Joan He has said that she’s considered a companion book or two to go with it. I really hope that more books come out that carry this story on, as I’m desperate for more answers, to see more mystery uncovered, and to find out what happens to these characters. If there is no more, and it’s just this one book, then it’s a hell of a book, and there being no followup won’t detract from my enjoyment at all. A beautiful debut with thrilling politics and strokes of magic, set in a lush world that feels real and weighted with its own complex history." - Lori M. Lee, author of the "Gates of Thread and Stone" series and contributor to A Thousand Beginnings and EndingsI am, Na-Na.” Like a real sister, Lilian still used Hesina’s diminutive name long after she’d outgrown it. “Father might be gone, but he won’t be forgotten. Not with us here.” A gripping tale full of intrigue, unpredictable twists, and betrayal—this is the Chinese fantasy readers have been waiting for. Well, we might not be here for much longer, since meeting with this person may end in death by a thousand cuts.” The king died by poison (before the story begins). A man drinks poisoned wine and becomes violently ill.